The Business of Family Planning

August 19, 2021

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A friend of mine -- a sweetheart and a classic Type-A career-driven New Yorker -- is considering her options when it comes to having a family one day. She’s currently single, 30 and working hard, as her female-founded company just raised a Series B, so she isn’t slowing down any time soon. While her mother tells her to go find a boyfriend, she’s considering following in the footsteps of her CEO, who is 37 and had her eggs frozen two years ago. The ticking clock that used to have women prioritizing (or squeezing in) partnerships and children before 35 has met its match with technology. The “motherhood penalty”, a contributing factor to the gender wage gap (which was set back 36 years by the pandemic, according to experts), might close some if women are able to reach the higher echelons of their careers in their late 30’s before taking a break to have children.

Arguably, not since the invention of the birth control pill have women been offered such revolutionary science and technology to transform how their lives are determined. And, it turns out, it's a booming industry. Today, we’re highlighting some of the startups within the women's health industry focused on fertility and family planning.

Kindbody exam room NYC

Top Fertility & Family Planning Startups

Kindbody is a fertility and family-building company. From over 300 locations, they offer fertility assessments, egg-freezing, IVF, LGBTQ+ planning, and holistic care. The company has raised a total of $126MM and is valued at $612MM.

Maven Clinic closed a record-breaking $110MM Round D on Tuesday for its telehealth platform focused on women & families. The company specializes in employer-sponsored healthcare that improves the outcomes for employees starting families. Maven's competition includes Carrot Fertility, which just raised a $75MM Round C.

Modern Fertility aims to help women get the data they need to make informed decisions about their fertility with a simple at-home finger-prick blood test. The company was acquired by Ro (the $5BN health platform) in May for $225MM and will integrate into Ro to expand Ro's offerings nationwide.

Oula Health is the “modern maternity center” offering pregnancy care, education, birth planning, and virtual coaching from a midwife, including a sleek app to break it all down. It's aiming to make mother/baby-centric options (read–not just most convenient to the hospital staff) the priority and standard for birthing. The Brooklyn-based company raised a $3.2MM seed round in October of last year.

BIOMILQ is a biotechnology company building human milk from a lab. It uses the “building blocks of boobs” to culture cells. The company is still about 5 years out from commercial sales of their lab-grown milk and its goal is to sell the product at a comparable price point to formula. The company raised a $3.5MM Series A last year.